In general, what are the different regions or provinces cities and towns of Mexico?
Vanessa Kerr
Mexico has thirty-two states. The north part that extends from Baja California is very diverse. There are areas with mountains. In Chihuahua, you will find Copper Canyon, which is deeper than the Grand Canyon. It has wonderful ride on a train that goes from Chihuahua City to the coast. There are also forests, and some desert areas with dunes. Both Chihuahua and Sonora have lots of cattle and they are the main producers of meat in Mexico. In the north you will also find Monterey, which...
Mexico has thirty-two states. The north part that extends from Baja California is very diverse. There are areas with mountains. In Chihuahua, you will find Copper Canyon, which is deeper than the Grand Canyon. It has wonderful ride on a train that goes from Chihuahua City to the coast. There are also forests, and some desert areas with dunes. Both Chihuahua and Sonora have lots of cattle and they are the main producers of meat in Mexico. In the north you will also find Monterey, which is the largest city in Monterey. It is a very industrial city and is hone to many international corporate head offices.
If you go a little south, you will find Guadalajara, which is the second largest city in Mexico with more than 7 million people. Jalisco is also an industrial area. In that same region, you will also find Veracruz on the coast. Veracruz is one of the richest states of Mexico because of its resources and a lot of agricultural land.
If you go further south, you will get to some of the areas of Mexico that are more poor such as the state of Guerrero where you will find Acapulco, and the state of Oaxaca, which is one of the poorest in the country. To the east, you will find Yucatan. Those areas are very important from a tourism point of view. To west, you will find Acapulco and to the south, Huatulco in the state of Oaxaca. To the east, will find Cancun and Playa del Carmen, which are two of the most important beach resorts in Mexico.
(Ultra marathon participants in Copper Canyon of the Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico, pictured.)
There are two different types of TV service from which to choose in Nicaragua:
Basic cable TV is $25 per month.
Cable TV + Internet will run around $70 per month.
The cost to buy a TV in Nicaragua will vary depending on the size, the brand and the technology you like (for example, LCD, Plasma, LED, 3D). Prices range from $250 to $1,000 or even more if you are looking for a movie theater size or looking for the...
There are two different types of TV service from which to choose in Nicaragua:
Basic cable TV is $25 per month.
Cable TV + Internet will run around $70 per month.
The cost to buy a TV in Nicaragua will vary depending on the size, the brand and the technology you like (for example, LCD, Plasma, LED, 3D). Prices range from $250 to $1,000 or even more if you are looking for a movie theater size or looking for the latest in technology.
There are many places where you can purchase your television, and you will find many options available, now even online. Managua is the city where most people will go buy their TV because of the amount of locations where you can find them.
Presented with permission from Bob Adams, of Retirement Wave
People often ask me why I came to Panama, but I’d like to talk about something more general today, whether you choose Panama or some other country, something that’s drawn from my own experience. In 1967 when I was the ripe old age of 22, I set off as a Peace Corp volunteer to the Philippines. And for the 43 years since then, with the exception of two or three, I spent...
Presented with permission from Bob Adams, of Retirement Wave
People often ask me why I came to Panama, but I’d like to talk about something more general today, whether you choose Panama or some other country, something that’s drawn from my own experience. In 1967 when I was the ripe old age of 22, I set off as a Peace Corp volunteer to the Philippines. And for the 43 years since then, with the exception of two or three, I spent all of my professional life working all over the world-- 40 to 50 countries.
I did most of my work in nutrition and agriculture but all of it was in economic development. I worked for the United Nations for various agencies, I’ve worked for the US Foreign Aid Program, I’ve worked for a whole variety of non-profits and humanitarian agencies and I’ve worked for business firms. Most of my work was directly associated with economic development; in fact all of it was in one form or another. I would work in one country one year and then three years later I’d come back to do another job in the same country and I often found that a country had made no progress. Some of them had slid back. Some had made a little progress. Some made a fair amount of progress over time. And, like so many people with my background, especially since economic development is our professional field, we’d like to know why it is that in some countries, it seems to “take” and in other countries, it does not. What differentiates these two groups of nations?
My determination after all these years is really a simple one, and it’s fairly easy to test. If you talk to enough people in a country, and you ask them to tell you about their country, one group is going to talk with you about past glories that are no longer the case. Their wonderful history, or what they were like 500 years ago or 100 years ago or 50 years ago. Others will talk about some horrible war that was lost, a battle that was lost, or something terrible that happened in the past that they feel has made their lives miserable ever since. Some of these events are a thousand years ago. It’s astonishing to hear people talk about them. Others may 30 or 40 years ago. The critical issue is that these folks invariably, when they have a general topic to discuss regarding their country, focus on the past. Whether it was a beautiful, wonderful past or a horrible, terrific past, it was the past.
In another set of countries where I ask the same question, people will talk about how thing are today, what they’re doing now, but they will talk especially about the future; what they’re planning to do or what they’re looking forward to. Now if I ask them about their past, they’ll tell me about it, just as they will in Panama. In the other countries that don't progress, if I ask about their future, they’ll talk about it, even though they’re not very positive about it most of the time. But the critical thing is that, left to their own devices, one group chooses to talk about the past, while the other group chooses to focus on the future. Do I need to tell you which group in my experience over 43 years has made the real progress? Well, if you haven’t figured that out, it’s the group that’s focused on the future.
If you think you’ve got a future and your country’s got a future, you’re feeling positive and moving forward, you get things done, you’re willing to try new things, to look at other possibilities and alternatives, you're flexible and you work around things If you’re buried in the past and all you can do is sit there and complain about something that happened that you had no control over or that was five generations ago, or 500 generations ago, its not going to take you anywhere.
Panama is one of those countries that is very future oriented. They talk about what they’re doing today and what they will be doing. Panama is a country that had a dictator, it was invaded by a foreign power, it had a very difficult period after that, and it had to get itself reorganized. It did a very good job of it but it wasn’t easy; it was very difficult. In 2000, 2001, they had a very serious recession here. They’ve had all sorts of things they could talk about in their past. They’ve got plenty of them. But that’s not what they talk about. They talk about today and tomorrow. Very much focused on the future. I like that. I appreciate that, and I can see that in the government’s activities, whether its one administration or another one, one political party or another, it doesn’t make any difference. It’s their future-orientation that’s extremely important. And I find it among the population as a whole. This is radically different than in some countries that we will leave unnamed where it’s exactly the opposite.
Those other countries may be richer in some ways, but they’re not going forward; they’re moving backwards. Panama is moving forward, and I really, really appreciate that. I wouldn’t live here if that were not the case. I just have too much experience with the other kind of country. Oh, the other kind of country may have cheap land or cheap housing or really cheap cost of living, because there isn’t much to buy, anyway. But they’re not going anywhere. They’re not a happy country. There are social problems, there are political problems, and people are blaming somebody. They’re always looking for somebody to blame for their problems. The future-oriented countries are just much more involved in trying to figure out what to do next. They may argue a lot; this is a democratic country and there is constant debate going on about what to do next, but it’s all about that future. What’s the best way to move forward.
That’s one good reason to be in Panama. And it’s one thing to keep in mind wherever you go, whether it’s Panama or another country. You need to go to a country that is focused on the future. That country has a future, likely, a much better one than the country where you sit and people tell you how unfair life has been for them.
You know something? I’ve discovered that it works exactly the same for individuals. But that’s a little hint here too, for me, as well as for you, that countries are nothing more than collections of human beings, and so they exhibit human behavior. If you and I, regardless of where you live or what I do or choose to do or whatever, if you’re looking to the future and you’re building a future, and you’re interested in the future and that’s where your focus is, you’re much more likely to make some real progress and to be happy and to see improvements; a better life. If you’re going to be buried back in what it used to be like when you were younger, or had this job or that job or when there was some terrible or unfair thing that happened to you, it may be completely legitimate, but it’s not getting you anywhere. It’s over. It’s history.
So, each of us, just like each nation makes up his or her mind, are we focusing on the future, are we looking forward, or are we looking backward? As Marshall McLuhan, a commentator many years ago put it, are we marching backwards in the future? Are we looking at the future through a rear view mirror? Both of those comments he made sum it up very clearly, as far as I’m concerned. So keep your eyes focused ahead, and wherever you go to live, look for a place where the people you’re going to be living with are looking forward to a better life. And if they are, you can find yours there as well. I happen to think Panama is a great place to do that, and it’s working well for me. So if it works well for you, wonderful. But don’t lose sight of that, in the national life of the country you reach eventually, even if you stay at home, and in your own life.
What is the culture of the Panama City, Panama area of Casco Viejo?
Rey Bazán
I think what draws people to Casco Viejo right now, whether to live here or just to visit, is the fact that Casco Viejo has the charm, the architecture and a rich history that dates back 500 years.
There are many outdoor cafes in Casco Viejo similar to the ones in Europe. People come there to have fun, to see and to be seen, and enjoy the quality of life.
When you go to Casco Viejo, you will be surrounded by the history and personality of the place.
I think what draws people to Casco Viejo right now, whether to live here or just to visit, is the fact that Casco Viejo has the charm, the architecture and a rich history that dates back 500 years.
There are many outdoor cafes in Casco Viejo similar to the ones in Europe. People come there to have fun, to see and to be seen, and enjoy the quality of life.
When you go to Casco Viejo, you will be surrounded by the history and personality of the place.
As a foreigner or expat, can I buy or own land or other real estate property in Portugal?
Luis Rodrigues - Gouveia Pereira, Costa Freitas & Associates, Law Firm, RL
Yes, as a foreigner, you can buy or own land or other real estate in Portugal. There are no restrictions for owning any land or other real estate asset in Portugal based on nationality. Moreover, care to note that Portugal allows individuals and/or companies (regardless of the nationality) to own the freehold of land or other real estate assets for perpetuity.
(The long sandy beach at Nazaré on the Atlantic coast, Portugal, pictured.)
Yes, as a foreigner, you can buy or own land or other real estate in Portugal. There are no restrictions for owning any land or other real estate asset in Portugal based on nationality. Moreover, care to note that Portugal allows individuals and/or companies (regardless of the nationality) to own the freehold of land or other real estate assets for perpetuity.
(The long sandy beach at Nazaré on the Atlantic coast, Portugal, pictured.)
What do I need to know when buying a house in or other real estate in Belize?
Christian Burn
If you want to buy a house in Belize, you should find out who the developer is and what kind of houses they build. Check if they deliver quality homes. That is most important and very basic.
If you want to buy a house in Belize, you should find out who the developer is and what kind of houses they build. Check if they deliver quality homes. That is most important and very basic.
Curious about how to buy or sell real estate in Panama? This story will cover the basics on buying or selling real estate in Panama, including the costs of buying or selling property and the conveyance process.
In some cases, but not all, the first step in the sales process is a Promise to Purchase agreement, whereby the buyer puts down a good faith deposit to take the property off the market for a certain amount of days. The real...
This little bird is a baby Panama Flycatcher. Mum and dad moved in above the light fitting in my kitchen in April 2012. I live on a little Caribbean island just off the coast of Panama in the archipelago of Bocas del Toro. This short tale is taken from my new book "Paradise Delayed", which is sub-titled "The pitfalls and pleasures (mainly the pitfalls) of Caribbean island life in the beautiful archipelago of Bocas del Toro, Panama". Life can be challenging and frustrating at times here,...
The theme of Panamá has always had worldwide importance, especially related Panamá's great importance in trade, commerce and American history. In 2013 we commemorate our 500 year anniversary of the discovery of the isthmus and the Pacific Ocean, and also when the first Catholic community was established in the American continent, our Lady of Santa María la Antigua. These are proud legacies from Panama to the world, not to mention the greatest project of all time: The Panama...
Mexico has thirty-two states. The north part that extends from Baja California is very diverse. There are areas with mountains. In Chihuahua, you will find Copper Canyon, which is deeper than the Grand Canyon. It has wonderful ride on a train that goes from Chihuahua City to the coast. There are also forests, and some desert areas with dunes. Both Chihuahua and Sonora have lots of cattle and they are the main producers of meat in Mexico. In the north you will also find Monterey, which...
I think what draws people to Casco Viejo right now, whether to live here or just to visit, is the fact that Casco Viejo has the charm, the architecture and a rich history that dates back 500 years. 
Yes, as a foreigner, you can buy or own land or other real estate in Portugal. There are no restrictions for owning any land or other real estate asset in Portugal based on nationality. Moreover, care to note that Portugal allows individuals and/or companies (regardless of the nationality) to own the freehold of land or other real estate assets for perpetuity. 
This story will cover the basics on buying or selling real estate in Panama, including the costs of buying or selling property and the conveyance process. 
This little bird is a baby Panama Flycatcher. Mum and dad moved in above the light fitting in my kitchen in April 2012. I live on a little Caribbean island just off the coast of Panama in the archipelago of Bocas del Toro. This short tale is taken from my new book "Paradise Delayed", which is sub-titled "The pitfalls and pleasures (mainly the pitfalls) of Caribbean island life in the beautiful archipelago of Bocas del Toro, Panama". Life can be challenging and frustrating at times here,...